


does your heart still remember my name?

by lady_fosboss



Category: Keeper of the Lost Cities Series - Shannon Messenger
Genre: F/M, Fluff without Plot, Read at Your Own Risk, book 8.5 spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-21
Updated: 2020-11-21
Packaged: 2021-03-10 08:14:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,400
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27650069
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lady_fosboss/pseuds/lady_fosboss
Summary: He wondered if his eyes wee deceiving him. Maybe all those months had made him start hallucinating what he missed most, who he missed most. After all, elves dealt with guilt differently. Maybe the guilt over what he'd done was finally catching up to him.Because there was no other explanation as to how he was staring at Sophie Foster.
Relationships: Sophie Foster/Keefe Sencen
Comments: 8
Kudos: 45





	does your heart still remember my name?

**Author's Note:**

> of course the first kotlc fic i write is written at 3am. hope you enjoy it tho!

Keefe's ears were ringing, and yet it was the quietest silence he'd ever been in.

He wondered if his eyes wee deceiving him. Maybe all those months had made him start hallucinating what he missed most, who he missed most. After all, elves dealt with guilt differently. Maybe the guilt over what he'd done was finally catching up to him. 

Because there was no other explanation as to how he was staring at Sophie Foster. 

Two years. It had been two years. And yet . . . she still looked the same. Her bright brown eyes held the same mixture of concern, fury, sadness and relief that she always had when facing him. Her blond hair fell down her shoulders like lava cascading down a mountain. 

She was every bit as gorgeous as he remembered.

"Keefe?" Her voice was still the soft, warm sound he'd dreamed of. Lulling him in just the same. Two years, and she still had a hold on him.

"Foster, I-" Missed you so much. I'm sorry. I wasn't trying to be a hero. I was dangerous.

I love you.

So much that he wanted to say. So much he couldn't say. 

"Keefe," her voice cracked this time. She took a step closer almost subconsciously. Her eyes roved after him frantically, drinking in everything. Like she was memorizing the hair curled at the nape of his neck. 

Like she was already preparing for goodbye.

"I'm sorry," he managed to speak this time. Finally. "I - I know that's the most ironic thing I can say, and probably the worst, but . . . I really am."

Keefe stepped closer. The street was crowded and busy. Passerby's swerved around them, curious eyes trailing after. The stall he was manning for Amorey while she fetched her daughter from school was still bustling with vibrant fruits and vegetables. 

Keefe wondered if he would have offered to look after the stall if he'd known this was gonna happen.

He couldn't even remembered how this had happened. One minute he was trying to control his breathing (two years in the human cities weren't enough to make him desensitized to the dirty air). The next he was scanning the streets for signs of customers. 

He hadn't been willing to believe that it could be her when he saw her crossing the road. After all, two years had passed. Two years of blocking her transmissions, changing apartments every few months. Throwing away his leaping crystal for good.

Then she had turned, her eyes connecting with his. As soon as brown met blue, her emotions hit. And Keefe had known then that it was her.

He still couldn't stop himself from wondering if this was a dream of sorts. How could Sophie be here, stepping closer yet again as her mouth floundered for words to speak. She was blinking rapidly, close to tears. 'Cause of Keefe.

He wanted to wrap his arms around her so bad. But . . . he couldn't. "I hope you can forgive me someday," he whispered instead. "And . . . I really can't apologise enough for what I put you through."

A few tears spilled over, and this Keefe couldn't resist reaching out. His fingers hesitated before he touched her face, but then he was and her eyes were welling even more, even as she closed her eyes and leaned into his touch. "I know why you did it," Sophie said softly. "And . . . I'm mad but also not."

"I deserve it," Keefe said. 

Sophie opened her eyes, capturing his. "I just . . . will you ever come back? Would you if I asked?"

Keefe's hand stilled for a second. He thought about it - would he be brave enough to face everyone? After leaving so abruptly, with only a little note? He could control his abilities now . . . 

"Yes," he admitted. "I can control myself now."

"So why didn't you come sooner?"

"I couldn't. I made sure I wasn't able to."

Sophie shook her head. "It's so hard to be angry when you're acting so sincere. But I am. You could have asked for help controlling. You didn't have to wait two years."

"I know," Keefe hung his head, trailing his hand back to his side. "And I'm really sorry."

Sophie shook her head again, more tears spilling from her eyes. Keefe leaned down, swiping them from her eyes gently. "I was gonna come back," he said. "I wasn't sure if my mom would ever be defeated, but I didn't plan on being gone for long."

"We were a team," Sophie whispered, but she didn't pull away. 

"I know," his voice cracked. "I drew you, and the others. I drew you so much times cause I was worried I'd forget you and return without remembering anything. Especially since I had trouble with the abilities."

"How long have you had control?"

Keefe hesitated. He wondered if Sophie would kill him.

Probably not, but she was gonna hate him. A lot.

"The first ten months I got here," he finally admitted.

Sophie sucked in a breath. Her emotions were spiralling in all directions - anger, grief, a hint of joy, regret. "Why would you stay longer?" She asked, backing away. 

"I-" Keefe stared at his dangling hand to avoid her eyes. "I needed to make sure I wouldn't be a threat or a liability. Or both."

"You never could be, Keefe," she said slowly. "We might have even defeated your mom quicker if you were with me to . . . help."

Keefe glanced at her again. His fingers played with the edges of his jacket. "Does that mean my mom is-"

Sophie nodded. "Tam was a big part of it."

Keefe felt the piece of hope he'd been holding out for his mom shred completely. He'd known this would happen, but it still hurt. A lot.

Sophie, however, was still there. Still standing and waiting and watching and looking like she wanted to strangle/hug him. He couldn't tell which one she was leaning more towards. 

The question she eventually did ask was a distraction. A good one. "Did you mean what you wrote in the letter?" Her voice was shuddery now.

Keefe nodded. "Yes. I . . . couldn't leave without saying anything."

She was always there to hold him together. Even more than he's hold her together at times. So much more than she realised. It wasn't just love he felt for her, it was safety and comfort. He had to make things right.

He stepped closer, his hand hesitantly reaching forward. She let him cup her jaw gently, watched him. "I promise I'll make this right. I may have got a few things wrong in that letter, because I will return."

Sophie stared at him, her brown eyes big and bright and blinking and there. And before Keefe could even blink, she was on her tiptoes and kissing him.

There might have been irritable sighs and people might have grumbled and made remarks about the two kids kissing in public. But Keefe wouldn't know.

All he knew was Sophie's hand on his cheek, the feel of her soft hair between his fingertips, the tight hold she kept on him. Kissing her was as natural as breathing, second nature. They fitted together so perfectly, like they were meant to be melded against each other.

Amorey spoke of religion a lot, of worshipping a higher being. Of believing in a place called heaven, high above the Earth.

How was that possible, when Keefe had her right in his arms?

All too soon they were pulling away. Sophie's hand stayed on his cheek, the other knotted in the hair at the back of his neck. She leaned her head into his chest.

"We were both dumb back then," she said quietly. "And we both did things we shouldn't have done. But I'm willing to start over, however tricky that may be. I wanna do things right. But - " she made sure he was looking at her. " - we're going to have to start trusting each other."

Keefe nodded. It only felt natural for a smirk to curl his lips, but it was laced with hope. " . . . does this mean you don't hate me?"

Sophie shook her head. "I've told you before, I will never hate you."

She smiled a soft smile, small but just for him. And in that moment, Keefe realised what he'd been too scared to admit to himself before.

Sophie loved him. She was willing to start over again.

And Keefe couldn't wait.

**Author's Note:**

> follow my tumblr @lady-fosboss !


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